The White Rock Lake Dredging Feasibility Study Is Official

Good news today for fans of White Rock Lake: the city will pay for a feasibility study on dredging its silt-filled asset.

City Council swept through a resolution on Wednesday that pulled $99,300 from the White Rock Lake Beautification Fund. That was more or less the study’s estimated cost in July when Lakewood Councilwoman Paula Blackmon memo’d staff to request the money. The city is looping in the study with a contract to service 11 city-owned dams deemed high-hazard, including one at White Rock.

Specifically, the resolution says the study will be funded “by lease revenues from White Rock Lake Boat House and Filter Building.” There’s also $176,345 in FEMA grant money going toward White Rock, in particular its dam rehab, although there could be some overlap between that project and the dredging study.

Dallas now has a study lined up to “analyze siltation build-up, dredging approaches, regulatory requirements, costs, and potential funding sources” for dredging White Rock Lake. It had been expected to take as long as 18 months, but the city now puts it on a six- to nine-month timeline. After that, we get a look at dredging scenarios, public and stakeholder input, and recommendations. The city last dredged the lake in 1998.